Ready Steady Go! or simply
RSG! was one of the
UK'sThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
first rock/pop music TV programmes.
RSG! was conceived by
Elkan AllanElkan Allan was a British television producer and print journalist. Allan is most famous for his creation of the pioneering popular cult 1960s TV rock/pop music show Ready Steady Go!-Work:As producer:...
, head of Rediffusion TV, who wanted to try a music radio show. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager
Vicki WickhamVicki Heather Wickham is an English talent manager, entertainment producer, and songwriter.-Career:She is most known for producing the 60's British television show Ready Steady Go!, and managing well known pop/soul acts Labelle and Dusty Springfield.She also wrote the English lyrics to...
, who became the producer. It was broadcast from August 1963 until December 1966. It was produced by
Associated-RediffusionAssociated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968...
the weekday
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
contractor for
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, called Rediffusion-London post 1964. The show eventually went out live nationally. It was contemporary with the surge in British pop music of the 1960s.
The show gained its highest ratings on March 20, 1964 when it featured the Beatles being interviewed and miming their songs
It Won't Be Long"It Won't Be Long" is the opening track on With The Beatles, The Beatles' second UK album, and was the first original song recorded for it. Although credited to Lennon/McCartney, it was primarily a John Lennon composition, with Paul McCartney assisting with the lyrics and...
,
You Can't Do That"You Can't Do That" is a song written by John Lennon and released by The Beatles as the b-side of their sixth UK single "Can't Buy Me Love".-Composition:...
and
Can't Buy Me Love"Can't Buy Me Love" is a song composed by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on the A side of their sixth British single, "Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That."-Interpretation:...
- the last of which was a hit at the time.
It last aired on December 23, 1966.
Description
The show aired early on Friday evenings with the line
The weekend starts here!, and was introduced by
The SurfarisThe Surfaris were an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles, California area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" on the A side and "Wipe Out" on the B side of a 45 RPM single.-Career:The original...
"Wipe Out" - later replaced by
Manfred MannManfred Mann were a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboard player and founder, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Mann's Earth Band.-Beginnings :...
's "5-4-3-2-1" (later replaced by Manfred Mann's "Hubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble"). It was more youth oriented and informal than its
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
rival,
Top of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. It was traditionally shown every Thursday evening on BBC1, before being moved to Fridays in 1996, and then moved to Sundays on BBC...
. Due to airing of local news in parts of the UK outside London, several ITV regions joined the show part-way through.
Initially,
RSG! artists mimed to records but by late 1964 some performed live and the show switched to all-live performances in April 1965.
It was noted for allowing artists to perform the full version of their songs rather than the short versions demanded by other shows. Despite popularity in Britain, it never showed in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during its production years. "RSG" was in black-and-white.
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
,
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
, and
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
were converting to colour.
The show was recorded at small studios in Rediffusion's headquarters in
KingswayKingsway is a major road in central London in the United Kingdom, designated as part of the A4200. It runs from High Holborn, at its north end in the London Borough of Camden, and meets Aldwych in the south in the City of Westminster at Bush House. It forms the eastern boundary of Covent Garden...
, London. Although the company had bigger facilities at
WembleyWembley is an area of north-west London, UK, and part of the London Borough of Brent.-Location:Wembley is bounded on the south and east by the River Brent and the A406 North Circular Road, separating it from Neasden, Willesden and Park Royal. To its west and northwest are Sudbury and Harrow...
it was easier to attract stars to central London. As the studios were compact it was not possible to hide cameras. The ever-present cameras, which were very large with rotating lens turrets rather than zooms, were sometimes incorporated into the action, notably in a Manfred Mann performance of the song
Machines which ended with Paul Jones singing crouched on the floor surrounded by menacing cameras.
In 1966, the time that the 'beat boom' was fading, the show was cancelled. Its disappearance at the height of its popularity enhanced its status. Many years later Dave Clark bought the rights to the surviving show. Compilations aired on the UK's
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
in the 1980s and VHS videos were issued. In 1989 the show was seen for the first time in the US, on
Disney ChannelDisney Channel is a cable television channel specializing in television programming for children through original series and movies as well as third party programming. It is marketed to mostly children; however, in recent years the diversity of viewers has increased with an older audience,...
. Disney was a pay channel aimed at adults at night. Despite rumours and promises, nothing has ever been offically released on
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
.
Presenters and Producers
The most famous presenters were
Keith FordyceKeith Fordyce was a disc jockey and presenter on British radio and television.-Brief biography:Keith Fordyce first came to the attention of British radio listeners when he arrived at Radio Luxembourg in 1955 to become a staff announcer in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg where he was later joined by...
and
Cathy McGowanCathy McGowan is a British broadcaster and journalist, presenter from 1964-6 of Rediffusion television’s rock music show, Ready Steady Go!-Ready Steady Go!:...
, though early shows were introduced by
Dusty SpringfieldMary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE , known as Dusty Springfield, was a pop singer and entertainer. Of all the female British pop artists of the 1960s, she made one of the biggest impressions on the American market...
. The show was occasionally presented by
David GellDavid Gell was a DJ on Radio Luxembourg, and later on the BBC Light Programme, Radio One, and Radio Two.Born in Canada on 23 August 1929, he worked for radio station CFAC in Calgary before relocating to Europe....
and Michael Aldred.
McGowan joined after answering an advert for 'a typical teenager' as advisor. She found herself presenting the show, and in fact her status as a fan was evident in her style; stumbling over lines, losing her cool and apparent inexperience made her more popular and by the end she was presenting alone. She also joined in various fun and games including miming with The Rolling Stones to other peoples records, notably "I Got You Babe".
In 1968 Rediffusion Television as a name, lost out in
ITAITA can refer to:* Country code for or the Italian language* Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica , an elite engineering school in São José dos Campos, Brazil...
, (Independent Television Authority) contract changes, when the weekday ITV contract was offered and accepted by
Thames TelevisionThames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992. It was both a broadcaster and a producer of television programmes, making shows both for the local region it covered...
, created as a shot-gun wedding between Rediffusion holding 49% of shares, but the senior partner was the former ITV contractor for Midlands and the North at weekends, the
Associated British CorporationAssociated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this case, the parent company...
trading on screen as ABC Weekend Television with 51% holding. Ready Stead Go was no part of Thames' TV programme plans, and while for a short period, Thames TV local output, including Today with Eamon Andrews, came from Television House Kingsway near Holborn, Thames built a new studio base in Euston Road, close to Warren Street. The new studios housed Thames's Education, Religious and Schools out-put and local news magazines, while major light entertainment and drama were recorded at ABC's London studios at Teddington, Middlesex.
Elkan Allan did not transfer as a producer to Thames Television, and after 1968 he was for many years the Television Editor of
The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
ATVATV may refer to:In broadcasting:*Amateur television*Analog television*ATV , the NBC affiliate in Aruba.*ATV , Austrian TV station*ATV Home, major Cantonese-language TV station *ATV Jordan*ATV *ATV Madiun...
who had provided London ITV at the weekends, and programmes for the Midlands on weekdays, was awarded the Midlands for the entire week, and a new company was appointed to provide ITV in London from 7pm Fridays until closedown on Sundays, and that was
London Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend Television is the ITV network franchise holder for London and the South East at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5:15pm. to Monday mornings at 5:59am....
, later known as LWT.
Featured artists
It featured most successful artists of the era, among them
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
,
Dusty SpringfieldMary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE , known as Dusty Springfield, was a pop singer and entertainer. Of all the female British pop artists of the 1960s, she made one of the biggest impressions on the American market...
,
The SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
,
The Walker BrothersThe Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel, John Maus, and Gary Leeds. They had a number of top ten albums and singles in the mid-1960s, including number 1 chart hits "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine ".Formed in 1964, the three...
,
The KinksThe Kinks are an English rock group categorised in the US as a British Invasion band. The Kinks have been cited as one of the most important and influential rock bands of the British Invasion era....
,
Gerry & The PacemakersGerry & The Pacemakers were a British rock and roll group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool and were managed by Brian Epstein. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single...
,
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
,
DonovanDonovan , is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
(discovered by
RSG!),
The FortunesThe Fortunes are an archetypal English beat group. Formed in Birmingham, The Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the American and British Top Tens...
,
Helen ShapiroHelen Shapiro is an English singer and actress. She is best known for her 1960s UK chart-toppers, "You Don't Know" and "Walkin' Back to Happiness."-Early life:...
,P J Proby,
Otis ReddingOtis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer. Often called the "King of Soul", he is renowned for an ability to convey strong emotion through his voice...
,
Freddie and the DreamersFreddie and the Dreamers were a British musical band who had a number of hit records between May 1963 and November 1965. Their act was based around the comic antics of the 5-foot-3-inch-tall Freddie Garrity, who was famous for bouncing around the stage with arms and legs flying.-UK history:The...
,
The Dave Clark FiveThe Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. It was the second group of the British Invasion, after The Beatles, to have a chart hit in the United States ....
,
Bobby VeeBobby Vee is an American pop music singer. According to Billboard magazine, Vee has had 38 Hot 100 chart hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20.-Career:...
,
The AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s known in the United States as part of the British Invasion. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature songs "The House of the Rising Sun" and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", the...
,
Cilla BlackCilla Black OBE is a British singer, actress and television performer who has been successful as an entertainer from 1963 through the present day. She is most famous worldwide for her successful singles "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "You're My World", and "Alfie"...
,
The SearchersThe Searchers may refer to:*The Searchers , a 1954 novel by Alan Le May*The Searchers , a 1956 epic Western film based on Le May's novel*The Searchers , a 1960s British rock band...
,
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They became known for energetic live performances including the pioneering spectacle of instrument destruction...
,
Georgie Fame and the Blue FlamesGeorgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer; often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
,
Billy FuryBilly Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful British pop singer from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
,
LuluLulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, actress, model and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
,
Marvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and instrumentalist with a three-octave vocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960...
,
Gene PitneyGene Francis Alan Pitney was an American singer-songwriter. He was also a guitarist, pianist, drummer, and sound engineer. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic...
,
The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band. Formed in 1961, the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance...
,
Sandie ShawSandie Shaw is a British singer. She was, as described in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "the barefoot pop princess of the 1960s", owing to her distinctive penchant of performing on stage without shoes...
,
Burt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist and composer. He is known for his pop hits from the early 1960s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David, many of which were produced for and recorded by Dionne Warwick....
,
Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer, songwriter, and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
,
Kenny LynchKenny Lynch, OBE is an English singer, songwriter, entertainer and actor from London. Lynch appeared in many variety shows in the 1960s...
, Small Faces,
ThemThem was a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career...
and
The Four PenniesThe Four Pennies were an English, 1960s pop group, most notable for their 1964 UK chart topping song, "Juliet". The group's name came after a meeting above the Blackburn music shop owned by Mary Reidy, the shop being situated on 'Penny Street' where it is still located today as 'Reidy's Home of...
.
The show was what broke
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
worldwide. His first TV performance in England was on RSG! with "
Hey Joe"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard, and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man on the run and planning to head to Mexico after...
". After this appearance his club tour sold out and he was quickly added to a nationwide tour headlined by the
Walker BrothersWalker Brothers is a series of pancake houses in the Chicago area.They developed as a franchised spin-off of The Original Pancake House, founded in Portland, Oregon in 1953 by Les Highet and Erma Hueneke; although the Walker Brothers version has been in business for over 45 years...
.
Dusty Springfield devised and introduced the RSG Motown Special in April 1965, featuring
the SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
,
Stevie WonderStevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Blind from birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for the label. He has recorded more than thirty U.S...
, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The Supremes performed their now legendary Stop In The Name Of Love dance routine for the first time on the show.
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They became known for energetic live performances including the pioneering spectacle of instrument destruction...
proved particularly popular and in 1966 had an episode to themselves entitled "Ready Steady Who". The programme no longer exists, but an EP of the name marked the show (although no recordings were from the show).
The Walker BrothersThe Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel, John Maus, and Gary Leeds. They had a number of top ten albums and singles in the mid-1960s, including number 1 chart hits "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine ".Formed in 1964, the three...
were also hugely popular and had a special live edition in 1966 but again the tape was wiped, although extracts surfaced on Youtube in 2009 proving the group did not mime.
Popular Culture
The show was designed to annoy the stuffed shirt British establishment. There were young men wearing Blazer suits and ties, combing their hair smartly, but dancing to outrageous pop groups, like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, instead of partnering a chick for a Waltz or Rumba.
- Although not mentioned by name.. "Ready, Steady, Go" is parodied in the 1967 Film "Bedazzled" featuring comedians Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore (who both used to appear on the show in real life). In one sequence during the movie, both Cook and Moore play parts of Pop Stars singing songs with girls in the audience going crazy for them. Cook's "Devil" character and his group taking the name of "Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations".
- In a 1996 Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout, Saffy refers to Patsy looking like a 'sad reject from Ready Steady Go!'
External links